AMME1362 LAB REPORT

ISHRAT CHOPRA
540707043
Aim: to analyse the mechanical properties of different materials, presenting them through individual
engineering stress-strain curves. This was to be done through the use of a tensile test, observing and recording
the strain of Mild steel, Aluminium alloy (Al1050), Acrylic (PMMA), and Nylon6 parts under different loads.

Background:

The mechanical properties of a material can be tested through the conducting of a tensile test that involves
applying unidirectional loads on a test specimen using a machine until fracture. The load refers to the force
applied. A separate sensor is used to precisely record in the internal elongation of the material. The section of
the test specimen analysed by the elongation sensor is referred to as the gauge length (between two gripping
sections), seen in Figure 1. It is the reference length used in post-test analysis and calculations.

The tensile test provides the parameters to calculate characteristic mechanical properties of different
materials. The deformation of the function is measured as a function of the engineering stress on the material,
which is defined as the load placed on the material, divided by its cross sectional area (gauge length multiplied
𝐹
by specimen width): 𝜎 = 𝐴, measured in Newtons per unit area (Nm-2) . The resultant deformation of the
material is recorded observed through calculating engineering strain; a dimensionless ratio of the elongation of
∆𝑙
the material under load, by its original length: 𝜀 = 𝑙 . The relationship between the engineering stress and strain
0
of a material is exhibited through Youngs Modulus, a mechanical property unique to each material. It is the
𝜎
ratio of longitudinal engineering stress to the strain experienced in the same direction: 𝐸 = 𝜀 , measured in Nm-2
or Pascals (Pa). It is indicative of the stiffness of a material; the higher the Young’s modulus of a property, the
larger the stress required to achieve a certain length of elongation or reduction length.

However, it is only meaningful while Stress is proportional to strain, i.e. while the material undergoes elastic
deformation, where upon removal of the load, the deformation reverses and the material returns to its original
shape. As applied stress increases, it reaches a threshold, at which plastic or permanent deformation begins
and can be physically observed. This value is known as the yield strength of the material and is often observed
from the stress-strain curves of different materials. These curves also indicate the tensile strength of a
material, which is the maximum stress/load a specimen can withstand before fracture beings. The ductility of
the material can also be observed from the strain values of the curve. It is the mechanical property that
describes a materials ability to sustain significant plastic deformation without fracture. It can be represented
𝐿𝑓 −𝐿0
by the elongation of the material as a percentage of the original length: % 𝐸𝐿 = or by the reduction of the
𝐿0
𝐴0 −𝐴𝑓
cross-sectional area as a percentage of the original area: % 𝑅𝐴 = 𝐴0
.

Methods:

The Tensile test was conducted using an Instron 5567 testing machine. Each specimen’s dimensions were
measured using a Vernier Calliper, specifically the and width of the gauge length and thickness. This was used
to calculate the reference cross sectional area from which the engineering stress was calculated . Each
specimen was aligned and fitted into the grips of the machine, with 2/3 of the gripping length being gripped. The
speed of the machine was set according to the material being tested and the extensometer was set to have a
reference length of 50mm (the gauge length). The specimen must also be centred to prevent uneven load
distributions. The tensile test was then initiated with the machine applying a uniaxial tensile load on the
specimen, gradually increasing it, until the specimen fractured, i.e. material failure. As the load was applied, an
extensometer was used to constantly measure the engineering strain experienced by the material. The data
was plotted to generate stress-strain curves which were analysed to determine the material’s mechanical
properties.

Figure 1 Specimen used

 Material dimensions:

Mild Steel Al 1050 Acrylic (PMMA) Nylon 6

Width (mm) 12.94 12.95 12.81 13.14
Trial 1

Thickness (mm) 2.99 2.99 3.11 1.53

Cross sectional Area (mm2) 38.69 38.72 39.84 20.10
Width (mm) 12.94 12.97 12.80 13.24
Trial 1

Thickness (mm) 3.00 3.00 3.10 1.51

Cross Sectional Area (mm2) 38.82 38.91 39.68 19.99
Width (mm) 12.92 12.93 12.77 13.21
Trial 3

Thickness (mm) 2.96 2.96 3.17 1.56

Cross sectional area (mm2) 38.24 38.27 40.48 20.61

Engineering Stress-Strain Curve of Mild Steel

500.00
450.00
400.00
Engineering Stress (MPa)

350.00
300.00
250.00
200.00
150.00
100.00
50.00
0.00
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Engineering Strain

trial 1 trial 2 trial 3

Figure 3 Engineering Stress-Strain Curve - Mild Steel

Engineering Stress-Strain Curve of Alluminum 1050

250.00

200.00
Engineering Stress (Mpa)

150.00

100.00

50.00

0.00
0.00 2.00 4.00 6.00 8.00 10.00 12.00 14.00
Engineering Strain

trial 1 Trial 2 trial 3

Figure 2 Engineering Stress-Strain Curve - Al1050

 Engineering Stress-Strain Curve of Acrylic (PMAA)
90
80
Engineering Stress (MPa)

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Engineering Strain (%)

Trial 3 trial 2 trial 1

Figure 5 Engineering Stress-Strain Curve - PMMA

Engineering Stress-Strain Curve for Nylon 6

90
80
Engineering Stress (Mpa)

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Engineering Strain (%)

trial 1 trial 2 trial 3

Figure 4 Engineering Stress-Strain Curve - Nylon 6

Results:

Mat Trial Young’s Modulus Elastic Limit Yield Strength Tensile Strength Elongation at failure (%)
1 262 0.00134 317 445 28.8
Mild Steel

2 292 0.00098 295 394 34.6

3 253 0.00134 301 401 31.6

1 66.2 0.00164 167 191 11.8

AL 1050

2 70.4 0.00167 153 215.6 6.56

3 68.7 0.00204 179 204 12.8
1 2.57 0.000502 - 77.7 5.02
2 2.68 0.000470 - 77.1 4.70
PMMA

3 2.67 0.000521 - 76.5 5.21

1 0.660 0.047 37.1 58.2 303
Nylon 6

2 0.602 0.053 34.7 81.1 465

3 0.598 0.040 33.1 72.9 377

Figure 6 Engineering Stress-Strain Curve Values

Deformation and failure mechanisms:

Deformation and failure mechanisms refer to the physical process that cause the deformation and failure of
materials, specifically stretching and necking, mechanisms responsible for the materials change in shape,
volume and structure. [1,2]

Stretching is defined as the elongation of a material under tensile loading. Initially, the rate of stretching is
constant, while the component undergoes elastic deformation. Thus the engineering strain is seen to increase
linearly with the applied load and all parts of the material undergo the same elongation. [3] The stretching at
this point is non-permanent and the component would return to its original shape after the load was removed.
After the material exceeds the yield strength, the material undergoes plastic deformation. It begins to stretch at
a non-linear rate, however deformation is still uniform along the specimen, i.e. there is no change in specimen
volume [4]. Thus the cross-sectional area decreases uniformly. The material will continue to stretch and
deform in this manner until the applied load reaches the material’s ultimate tensile strength.

Beyond the UTS, uniform stretching no longer continues and, localised stretching, known as necking, initiates.
The material is unable to withstand the load uniformly along its length and certain regions undergo a larger
strain, resulting in a localised reduction in cross-sectional area [5]. This reduction in area also leads to the
region becoming a point of stress concentration, which further accelerates the deformation at the “neck”.
Evetually, as necking continues and the cross-sectional area decreases, the region will reach a point where it
will be unable to sustain any more stress and the material will fracture. Fracture from necking is referred to as
“ductile fracture”, while brittle materials do not undergo “necking.”

Discussion:

Comparisons between the experimental values and the theoretical values are as seen:

Material Mild Steel [6] Al-1050 [7] PMMA [8] Nylon-6 [9]
Exp. Theory. Exp. Theory. Exp. Theory. Exp. Theory.
Young’s Modulus 269 205 68.4 69 2.64 3 0.62 0.21-4.1
Elastic Limit (mm/mm) 0.122 0.11 0.178 0.127 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.03-
0.15
Yield Strength (MPa) 304 305 166 103 - - 35.0 25-90
Tensile Strength (MPa) 413 365 204 105-145 77.1 70 70.7 39-170
Elongation at Failure(%) 31.7 20 10.4 10 4.98 4.5 382 2.3-450
Comparisons to theoretical values indicate great variation in Youngs Figure 7 experimental vs. theoretical values
modulus and elongation at failure for Mild steel, while the other materials obtained relatively similar values to
the theoretical for these. The yield strength and elastic limit obtained for the materials is relatively similar to the
theoretical value, except Al-1050 which displays the greatest discrepancy. Large variation is seen between the
theoretical and experimental values for tensile strength for all materials.

Sources of Error:

A source of error that would have likely heavily contributed to discrepancies in experimental and theoretical
values is parallax error. The dimensions of the samples were measured manually and thus were prone to
parallax error when reading the scales. This would result in a potentially higher or lower cross sectional area,
which would impact the stress values obtained as well as Young’s modulus. The location of the mechanical
properties on the graphs were also estimated and thus likely highly inaccurate, specifically when determining
the yield strengths and elastic limit, as the end of the elastic region on the graph is not clear. Another potential
source of error could have been calibration error, where the extensometer or Intron5567 were not zeroed
properly. This was evident in the data obtained from the extensometer as the data contained negative strain
values which had to be removed before plotting the data. Many assumptions were also made when determining
the mechanical properties, including assuming the Acrylic Curve displayed a linear relationship, which would
have drastically affected Young’s Modulus as Young’s modulus represents the relationship between stress and
strain.

Differences between materials:

Metals: From the Engineering Stress-Strain curve of mild steel it is seen that mild steel is characteristically
higher in strength than All1050. While Mild steel has a yield strength of ~300 MPa and an Ultimate Tensile
strength of ~400 MPa, Al1050’s strength is significantly lower at a yields trength of ~ 166MPa and Tensile
Strength of 200MPa, and thus Mild Steel can be concluded to be much stronger than Al1050. The higher yield
strength of Mild steel also reflects its ability to withstand higher loads before undergoing permanent
deformation. Mild steel is also seen to be significantly more ductile, with 31% elongation as opposed to
Aluminium’s 10%. This indicative of mild steel’s ability o also sustain necking for longer, further annunciation by
the sharper drop from UTS to fracture for Aluminium as compared to Mild Steel.

Non Metals: While PMMA and Nylon-6 exhibit similar strength values, their behaviour under tensile loads is
drastically different. Nylon-6 is drastically more ductile, evident through its ~380% elongation at failure, as
opposed to PMMA’s ~5. Nylon-6 also continues to deform past the elastic deformation region, while PMMA
fractures almost immediately after the yield point. This difference can be attributed to Nylon-6’s viscoelastic
behaviour and Acrylic’s brittle nature and rigidity, meaning it does not undergo plastic deformation.
Consequently, its strain at failure is also minimal.

Both polymers exhibit a significantly smaller strength than the metals, reflecting the ability of metals to
withstand greater loads, with Mild Steel’s tensile strength being almost 6 times greater than the polymers.
However, while the metals are seen to be stronger, they are seen to have relatively lower ductility, being ~10-
40% less elongation at failure as compared to Nylon-6. However, both metals undergo both elastic and plastic
deformation, while PMMA only undergoes elastic deformation and thus both metals are more ductile than
PMMA.

Viscoelasticity: The behaviour of polymers such as Nylon-6 is attributed to their viscoelasticity, which refers
to materials exhibiting both viscous and elastic characteristics. Viscous materials are those that those that
resist flow, or are thick, sticky or adhesive. Therefore, in regards to deformation, viscoelastic materials differ to
elastic materials in that they undergo time-dependant strain. Deformation continues as long as some force is
applied, even if that force is held constant (known as creep) and if the strain is held constant, the stress
decreases gradually (relaxation). This is reflected through Nylon-6’s significantly large elongation at low stress
levels along with its extremely gradual increase in stress. This is further reflected by Nylon’s relatively small
Modulus of Elasticity as compared to elastic/plastic materials such as metals. A Purely elastic material
undergoes deformation proportional to the applied stress; linearly [10]. Metals exhibit elastic and plastic
behaviour, initially undergoing elastic deformation, with no permanent deformation. At a certain stress, they
undergo plastic deformation. While polymers can recover partially after a load has been removed, due to
viscoelastic relaxation, metals cannot recover plastic deformation resulting in a permanent change in shape.
However, if metals are heated to a high-enough temperature, they also exhibit time dependent deformation.
This is reflected through Nylon-6’s significantly large elongation at low stress levels, along with its

References
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overview-of-material-failure-mechanisms-from-yielding-to-thermal-shock/
[2] Wikipedia Contributors, “Deformation mechanism,” Wikipedia, May 18, 2024.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deformation_mechanism (accessed Oct. 01, 2024).
[3] “Navigating the Complexities of Material Failures | Envista Forensics,” Envistaforensics.com, 2014.
https://www.envistaforensics.com/en-au/knowledge-centre/insights/articles/navigating-the-complexities-of-material-failures/
(accessed Oct. 01, 2024).
[4] “Plastic Deformation,” VEDANTU. https://www.vedantu.com/physics/plastic-deformation
[5] K. Morrow, “Necking,” Failure Mechanisms, Mar. 01, 2011. https://failuremechanisms.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/necking/
[6] Xometry, “All About Mild Steel: Definition, Composition, and Properties,” www.xometry.com, Oct. 24, 2022.
https://www.xometry.com/resources/materials/mild-steel/
[7] “MatWeb - The Online Materials Information Resource,” www.matweb.com.
https://www.matweb.com/search/datasheet.aspx?matguid=b1aa69c0528a40729478403542a8c94a&n=1
[8] Designerdata, “Poly(methyl methacrylate) | Designerdata,” designerdata.nl.
https://designerdata.nl/materials/plastics/thermo-plastics/poly(methyl-methacrylate)
[9] “Overview of materials for Nylon 66/6,” www.matweb.com.
https://www.matweb.com/search/datasheet_print.aspx?matguid=26386631ec1b49eeba62c80a49730dc4
[10] R. Pope, “The Difference Between Elastic and Viscoelastic Materials,” Sorbothane, Feb. 03, 2015.
https://www.sorbothane.com/technical-data/articles/difference-between-elastic-materials-and-viscoelastic-materials/